The Problem with Jobs

  I want to share something with you today friends.  You were not meant to just work a job and die.  Your life should not controlled by or revolve around your J.O.B..  And here's what I mean...
  When God created Adam and Eve, they only had two tasks:  1.  Be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28)   2.  Tend the garden of Eden. (Genesis 2:15)  Now, I don't know about you, but I would imagine it doesn't take much effort to care for a garden that exists in a perfect world.  There's no weeding to be done, the dew waters the plants for you, so there's not a lot of tending required.  So what were Adam and Eve supposed to be doing with all their free time?  I'll give you a hint.. it wasn't going out and getting a 9-5.  No!  God called them to be fruitful and multiply.  They were meant to grow and increase in every area of their lives, spiritually, mentally, physically, intellectually, and to pursue the unique God given talents and abilities they had.  Just imagine what they could have become and all they could have accomplished with unlimited time in a completely perfect environment.  But here's the problem.  While they didn't see their potential, someone else did.  There was a snake in the garden who recognized how much his kingdom of darkness stood to lose if mankind were allowed to exist as God had truly intended them to be.
  So the snake contrived a plan, to trick Adam and Eve into giving up their perfect existence and thereby forcing them to toil in pain and suffering for the rest of their existence. (Genesis 3:1-7)  And once life became difficult and filled with work, they lost their passion and their energy, and their focus was taken away from thriving and put onto merely surviving.(Genesis 3:17)  Sound like anyone you know?
  I don't know about you, but when I spend all day at work, I come home tired and depleted, and I don't have the time or energy I need or want to do the things I want to do and feel called to do.  Our jobs are robbing us of our true purpose friends!  We were never meant to live this way.  So, you ask, how can we change it?  After all, we depend on our jobs to provide our income and fund our lives.
  First, find out what you are called to do.  What are you good at?  What makes your heart and spirit soar?  What causes you to get out of bed excited in the morning?  Once you know this, find ways to do it, and if you can make a living at it, you are doing better than most.
  Secondly, learn to get your money in order.  Learn to save and invest, so that you are no longer dependent on and chained to your weekly job income.  Once you can live free of the need for income from a regular 40+ hour a week job, you can start to focus your time and energy on what really matters to you.
  Lastly, I am not saying jobs are bad entirely.  There is a lot to be learned from having a job, and if you have a job, you should strive to be excellent at it and do your best to be reliable and earn your paycheck and more.  However, I believe that most of us have a higher calling than what we do on a weekly basis, and if we can start to live out that calling, we will see lives changed in a whole new way (our own lives included.)
  Get out there and pursue your purpose.  I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.W.

Peace in Chaos

  I have a compilation of thoughts for you tonight friends.  Albert Einstein said, "Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."  Profound statements if you consider them.  After all, it's easy to be at harmony when there is no discord, and it's easy to see opportunities when there is no difficulty.  But that is seldom the case in our lives.  Often our lives are a swirling ball of busyness and chaos which can send us spiraling down a path of confusion, anxiety, and frustration.
  I was struck with a thought on this the other day.  My son has oppositional defiant disorder as well as attention deficit disorder, and as a result, my house is never still.  There is noise and yelling and things flying all the time.  Finding a single sane, quiet moment is nearly impossible.  Mornings in particular are especially trying.  One morning last week, I had grown tired of the screaming and arguing, and I had gone in my room and shut the door to try to recollect myself.   I sat there listening to the three dogs squabbling, my son running around the house slamming toys off the floor and yelling at the top of his lungs, and I thought, "How can I find peace in the midst of this?"
  And then a still small voice came through to me.  True peace is only found in the storm.  I thought of the famous painting of a mother bird, sheltering her babies under her wings in the cleft of a rock while the storm rages all around them.  You see, Christ said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  (John 14:27)  The world wants to show us pictures of serene scenarios as our only examples of how to live in peace.  And while a quiet get away can have wonderful rejuvenating effects, we have to realize that true peace can be found in the midst of our mess if we look to the One who gives it.  Like the small birds in the storm, our circumstances do not determine our peace, rather, knowing who's wings we rest under does.  "He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge."  (Psalm 91:4a)
  Today, as you face the storms of life, do not let the outer chaos determine your inner peace.  Focus yourself on the One who is constant, and who holds the power to still the wind and waves.
I can't wait to see you succeed.

~K.W.